SPOTLIGHT: Sweeping Culture Daily

By Craig Hubert | The weekend before Christmas is a strange one at the box-office because it’s hard to predict – will people be too busy to sit in a movie theater because they’re getting all their last minute shopping done? Or is the movie theater the perfect escape from all the people getting their last minute shopping done? The numbers, coming in today, prove a little bit of both. “The Hobbit” continued its run as the number one movie in the country, but only brought in $36.7 million. Of the entire slate of movies currently in theaters, “The Hobbit” is the one expected to bring in major numbers of the holiday week due to its appeal across a wide demographic range. “Jack Reacher, “the Tom Crusie action-vehicle, was second place, bringing in $15.6 million, while Judd Apatow’s “This is 40,” not doing well with critics, was third place, bringing in a small $12 million. Apatow’s adult comedy only cost $35 million to make, so its box office, while not huge, is pretty much on target for what the studio expected.

At the specialty box-office, Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial “Zero Dark Thirty,” did extremely well, earning $410,000 over five theaters natiowide. Michael Haneke’s award-winning “Amour,” also did well, earning $70,000 across three theaters nationwide. Both films will see wider releases over the coming weeks.